Stop confiscation of farmland: CM

Farmers from districts of the state reached Dharamshala to put forth their grievances before Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu. They complained that land mafia was engaged to grab their land in connivance with bank managers. The issue pertains to the creditors who had taken loan keeping their land as collateral and are now unable to pay back the due amount.

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The CM, after listening to the farmers, ordered to immediately stop the confiscation and subsequent auction of the land till the matter got thoroughly investigated.

Sanjay Chauhan, Chairman, Himachal Pradesh State Co-Operative Agriculture and Rural Development Bank, while talking to The Tribune, said, “There is not a single complaint pertaining to irregularities on part of the bank managers who are discharging their duty strictly as per the laid down laws.”

According to him, the bank had recently come out with one time settlement (OTS) which offered a waiver of as high as 60 per cent of the outstanding amount to the defaulters who were somehow unable to pay back the due loan. But the chronic cases over 20 years old, which were around 200 in the state, did not even avail this opportunity available at their doorstep. Chauhan reiterated that the recovery had to be made for the survival of the bank, but as per the instructions of the CM, the attachment of lands was on hold.

Meanwhile, leaders of farmers opined that many cases had come to light in the state, where land dealers, in collusion with bank officials, were buying those lands whose farmers were not able to repay the loan on time due to one or the other reason. According to them, earlier this land used to be in the name of the bank and remained with the bank for many years. But now the banks, in a haste, called bidders directly, which sounded foul and was injustice to the poor and illiterate farming community of the state.